San Jacinto County News - Breakout

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Artist Mary Nicklow painted Coldspring Methodist Church, which will be celebrating its 175th anniversary in November. Courtesy photo

Special to the News-Times

COLDSPRING — For the special milestone to be observed by Coldspring Methodist Church, there’s an equally special word for its 175th anniversary.

Septaquintaquinquecentennial.

On Nov. 4, the church will have a day of events to commemorate the historical church.

Festivities open with a prayer walk, a word from Coldspring Mayor John Benestante and a patriotic sing-along. Church pastor the Rev. David DeWitt will share a message during lunch.

From 9 a.m.-2 p.m., there will be free food, free snow cones, free games, music and so much more, including a John the Baptist Dunking Booth, arts and crafts, free hamburgers, hotdogs and cake.

There will be a cupcake walk, sack races, egg toss and cornhole; raffles; and free commemorative photos

On Nov. 5, there will be a guest speaker at the 11 a.m. service, along with communion.

The public is invited to be a part of the historical event at the church, 1 Cemetery Road, in Coldspring.

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Members of the Royal Blue Band and Guard of Shepherd High School display awards won recently in competition. Courtesy photo

Special to the News-Times

SHEPHERD — The Royal Blue Band and Guard followed a performance at Friday’s football game with their first competition of the season on Saturday.

The band participated in the Teague Marching Invitational, a competition specifically for small school bands (2A-4A), and brought back some awesome hardware.

Ratings are given in terms of division numbers, with a 1 being the best.

The Royal Blue Band and Guard earned Division 1 in percussion, drum majors and color guard, and a Division 2 ranking in 3A band.

The Royal Guard also earned secind place out of all of the 3A bands, getting beaten out only by the 3A UIL State Champions, Mineola High School.

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The Overstreet family adopted Gretchen from the county Dog Shelter. Courtesy photos

At last, we have some cooler weather. How wonderful it is to be outside without thinking about heat stroke. This month it’s time for Halloween events around our area.

I have mentioned two before but in case you missed them, here they are again. The Historical Commission of our county hosts the Haunted Jail in Old Town Coldspring. This jail was in use till the 1980s. The cells, which are upstairs face each other and the trap door in the ceiling was for executions, although there is no record that it ever was used for that purpose.

Now a museum, the building was also home to the jailer and his family. The museum is open on some weekends. Go to the Historical Commission website for more information.

The Haunted Jail will be open Oct. 27-29 from 5-10 p.m. Entry fee is $10 adults, $5 children 5-17 years-old, and children under 5 enter free. It is recommended that very young children come for the first hour since the performances becoming scarier after that. There will be snacks on sale. This is always a very popular event.

•The Impact Center in Shepherd will host a fundraiser for the future Impact Crisis Center on Oct. 21. There will be contests for barbecue and chili and a Dracula’s Kiss cocktail contest. Joe LeBlanc and Jon Dameron, along with the Bootleg Country Band, will supply the entertainment.

This is going to be a fabulous night with celebrity guests joining in the fun, including Termite Watkins and Derrick Woods, world-famous champions for boxing and football,l respectively. Three-times world boxing champion Reggie Johnson and former Harlem Globetrotter Reggie Dickson will be there too.

There will be a cornhole contest, youth and adult costume contest and a pet dress-up contest. Call Brenda at (936) 499-2632 for more information or to register.

•Shepherd Chamber has forms for vendors and parade entries on its website. Dec. 2 from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at Shepherd Community Center followed by the Parade from Liberty Street by the Library at 6 p.m.

Line-up starts for the parade at 4 p.m. when judging starts. Santa will be in the Community Center for Photos and games for children will be outside under the Pavilion. Music will be provided by Joe LeBlanc, our wonderful DJ.

•Coldspring Senior Center has organized a trip to the Naskila Casino outside of Livingston on Nov. 14. Arrive at the Center at 8:30 a.m., pay $25 then receive $25 in free play at the Casino. Call the Senior Center at (936) 653-417 5to register and for more information.

FYI, both Senior Centers in our County publish the menus for the upcoming week.

•The Adopt a Dog service from the SJC Rescue Shelter on Highway 2025 has been very grateful for the donations of puppy food. Several dogs were adopted on Adoption Saturday, the fourth Saturday of the month.

The Overstreet family adopted Gretchen, the one in the bandana. She is a companion to their rescue dog also shown. Judy Chatham, who is president of the Coldspring Senior Center, adopted Bandit the week before.

You don’t have to wait to adopt or foster a dog and each one is given their shots, neutered or spayed and chipped before they are allowed to be adopted.

•This week I want to introduce you to Mindy Blankemeyer. If you are a member of Coldspring Chamber or have been a vendor at an event, you will have met Mindy. She is in charge of the Chamber Office.

Not only that, she effectively organizes and keeps everything running, an invaluable help to the Board members. Recently, to recognize her value the board, made her executive director, since she was directing many of the elements involved in our events.

Having been with the Chamber since 2018, she knows how things work. Mindy is a native of our area, born in Cleveland, educated there and later earned a degree in Business Ethics.

She is married to Vincent. In March they will celebrate their 30th anniversary. They have two sons and a daughter, Dalton, Amber and Dustin.

Mindy and Vincent love to explore new places which they do in their camper. One of Mindy’s favorite memories, one she intends to repeat, is to see the fields of sunflowers which spread to the horizon in Nebraska.

Both she and Vincent love the peace and beauty of nature when they can get away from their very busy lives. They love to ride their motorbikes too, so organizing the upcoming Wolf Creek Car, Truck and Bike Show is something Mindy knows all about.

You will see her there if you visit this popular event Oct. 21-22.

Contact the Shepherd Chamber at (210) 995-7420 or the Coldspring Chamber at (936) 653-2184.

Yvonne Cones is president of the Greater Shepherd Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Coldspring Chamber of Commerce.

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Special to the News-Times

On July 14, the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The House-passed FY24 NDAA includes a 5.2 percent pay raise for service members; prohibits funding for Critical Race Theory in the military; continues the prohibition on adverse action on any service member that refuses or refused the COVID vaccine while beginning a path back to service; and overall boosts defense spending to provide much-needed funding for our military and national security, as our nation faces unprecedented threats from around the globe.

Rep. Morgan Luttrell had several provisions included in the House-passed legislation, including funding for counternarcotics activities within the Department of Defense, support for PTSD treatments, and improvements on cybersecurity infrastructure and AI based cyber threat detection.

In September, Luttrell was named by Speaker Kevin McCarthy as a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee representative conferee to the NDAA Conference Committee.

As part of the Conference Committee, made up of Senators and Representatives, Congressman Luttrell will work to resolve the bicameral differences in the NDAA for FY24 and ensure a robust legislative package makes certain our nation is ready to fight.

Supporting veterans

In September, the House of Representatives passed Luttrell’s Veterans Benefits Improvement Act with bipartisan support. The Veterans Benefits Improvement Act will make improvements to the requirement that the Secretary publish disability benefit questionnaire (DBQ) forms on the VA’s website for use by a veteran’s private provider.

It also includes a report on improving access to travel reimbursement pay for veterans living abroad who must attend a disability exam. Additionally, this bill will improve communication regarding the scheduling of disability exams between contractors, veterans, and the veteran’s accredited representative. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

“As a veteran myself, I know firsthand how cumbersome the disability claims process can be and it is past time to modernize these processes,” Luttrell said. “I am proud to see my bill pass through the House today with bipartisan support. This legislation will meet the needs of those who have proudly served our country by minimizing Veterans Affairs backlogs, delays, and unnecessary procedural burdens. I will continue to work towards solutions to make vital improvements in the lives of our veterans and their families.”

Luttrell also had an amendment included in the House-passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2024. The amendment would provide funding for a psychedelic clinical trial authorized in the House version of the FY24 NDAA.

These treatments are desperately needed by our service members and veterans who are facing Traumatic Brain Injuries, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression and other combat-related injuries.

Luttrell spoke on the House floor in support of his amendment, as well as joined Fox and Friends to discuss the importance of these emerging therapies.

Luttrell led a bipartisan letter to United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra expressing concern over the lack of effort to address Traumatic Brain Injury and advocating for HHS to establish a National Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force to transform the treatment and care of TBI patients.

Lastly, Luttrell joined the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan group of military veterans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 2019, the For Country Caucus works to find strong policy solutions that support the U.S. Armed Forces and American veterans.

“As a Navy veteran, I understand and appreciate the importance of serving our country — it’s why I came to Washington, D.C. The For Country Caucus has a proven record of delivering veteran and national security wins on behalf of the American people,” said Congressman Luttrell. “My fellow veterans in Congress understand the mission — the same one we had in uniform — to come together to strengthen our national security and do right by our brothers and sisters in arms. I look forward to having this additional pathway to ensure veterans and service members receive every bit of support they need and deserve.”

Addressing the border crisis

Luttrell introduced legislation to require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to take necessary steps when placing an unaccompanied alien child with a potential sponsor inside the United States, especially as recent reports show HHS has been unable to contact 85,000 children in the past two years.

Further, the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure our southern border has resulted in vulnerable migrant children being exploited by the cartels and transnational criminal organizations. More than 370,000 unaccompanied children have come to our southern border unlawfully under President Biden and just over 152,000 children were encountered at our southern border in the previous fiscal year.

A study from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women estimated that 60 percent of unaccompanied migrant children are caught by cartels and exploited through child pornography and drug trafficking.

“Unaccompanied migrant children are crossing our border, and the Biden Administration’s failed policies have done absolutely nothing to protect them. Instead, these children are released with no follow-up and are being exploited by cartels, resulting in forced labor, sex trafficking, and abuse,” Luttrell said. “This cannot be swept under the rug. It is crucial that proper and thorough vetting is implemented at HHS so vulnerable children are placed with responsible adults. Everyone is suffering because of President Biden’s border crisis, and it cannot continue.”

Impeaching Biden

Last month, the House opened a formal impeachment inquiry into whether President Biden has engaged in impeachable offenses under the U.S. Constitution.

Prior to Speaker McCarthy’s announcement, House committees (Oversight & Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways & Means) were investigating potential misconduct as part of their constitutional oversight and legislative duties to consider, among other things, whether changes to our nation’s laws might be needed. That work will continue, but now this investigation can rely upon the broadest scope of Congressional power. With this enhanced authority, it will be more difficult for the Biden Administration to stonewall efforts to find the truth.

“I support the impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations of his abuse of power and corruption,” Luttrell said. “While the impeachment process was weaponized during the Trump Administration, House Republican leadership has made this inquiry in order to gather hard line evidence that cannot be refuted. This is the proper next step to rooting out corruption and serious wrongdoing by President Biden that has justifiably concerned Americans across the country. I am committed to ensuring we uncover the truth and provide transparency and accountability to the American people.”

August work period

Over the month of August, Congressman Luttrell traveled throughout his district, meeting with constituents and hearing feedback on how best to continue representing his constituents.

Luttrell spoke at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, visited with residents of Park Manor of Conroe, walked in the third annual Overdose Awareness Walkathon, met with Entergy, received updates on the automobile industry, enjoyed coffee with constituents in Livingston, hosted a CISA cybersecurity conference, discussed future innovation and infrastructure with Huntsville Memorial Hospital, visited Ruby Cattle Company’s ranch, held a defense contractors roundtable, visited with WG Jones State Forest, and more.